Such lustre o'er each paly face,
That like two lovely saints they seem'd
Upon the eve of doomsday taken
From their dim graves, in odor sleeping;

While that benevolent Peri beam'd
Like their good angel, calmly keeping

Watch o'er them, till their souls would waken!
But morn is blushing in the sky;

Again the Peri soars above,

Bearing to heav'n that precious sigh

Of pure self-sacrificing love.
High throbb'd her heart, with hope elate,
The Elysian palm she soon will win,
For the bright Spirit at the gate

Smil'd as she gave that offering in:
And she already hears the trees

Of Eden, with their crystal bells
Ringing in that ambrosial breeze

That from the Throne of Alla swells;
And she can see the starry bowls

That lie around that lucid lake
Upon whose banks admitted Souls

Their first sweet draught of glory take!
But ah! e'en Peris' hopes are vain-
Again the Fates forbade, again

The immortal barrier closed-'not yet,'
The Angel said as, with regret,
He shut from her that glimpse of glory-
'True was the maiden, and her story,
Written in light o'er Alla's head,
By seraph eyes shall long be read.
But, Peri, see-the crystal bar
Of Eden moves not-holier far

Than e'en this sigh the boon must be
That opes the gates of Heav'n for thee."

Joyless, with sad soul and weary wings, the Peri_goes a third time in search of the gift that heaven will approve. It spreads its wings down along "sainted Lebanon," and the "flowery vales of Jordan," in hope of finding some precious relic sacred from its use in divine rites by God's own direction. At length

"When o'er the vale of Balbec winging
Slowly, she sees a child at play,
Among the rosy wild flowers singing,
As rosy and as wild as they.
Chasing with eager hands and eyes,
The beautiful blue-damsel flies,
That flutter'd round the jasmine stems,
Like winged flowers or flying gems:
And, near the boy, who tir'd with play
Now nestling 'mid the roses lay,
She saw a wearied man dismount

From his hot steed, and on the brink
Of a small imaret's rustic fount

Impatient fling him down to drink.
Then swift his haggard brow he turn'd
To the fair child, who fearless sat,
Though never yet hath day-beam burn'd
Upon a brow more fierce than that,

!

Sullenly fierce-a mixture dire,
Like thunder clouds, of gloom and fire!
In which the Peri's eye could read
Dark tales of many a ruthless deed;
The ruin'd maid-the shrine profan'd—
Oaths broken-and the threshold stain'd
With blood of guests! THERE written, all,
Black as the damning drops that fall
From the denouncing Angel's pen,
Ere mercy weeps them out again;
Yet tranquil now that man of crime,
(As if the balmy evening time
Soften'd his spirit,) look'd and lay,
Watching the rosy infant's play :
Though still, whene'er his eye by chance
Fell on the boy's, its lurid glance

Met that unclouded, joyous gaze,
As torches, that have burnt all night
Through some impure and godless rite,

Encounter morning's glorious rays.
But hark! the vesper-call to prayer,

As slow the orb of day-light sets,
Is rising sweetly on the air,

From Syria's thousand minarets!
The boy has started from the bed
Of flowers, where he had laid his head,
And down upon the fragrant sod

Kneels, with his forehead to the south,
Lisping the eternal name of God

From Purity's own cherub mouth,
And looking, while his hands and eyes
Are lifted to the glowing skies,
Like a stray babe of Paradise,

Just lighted on that flowery plain,
And seeking for its home again!

Oh! 'twas a sight-that Heav'n-that child-
A scene, which might have well beguil'd
E'en haughty Eblis of a sigh
For glories lost and peace gone by!
And how felt HE, the wretched man
Reclining there-while memory ran
O'er many a year of guilt and strife,
Flew o'er the dark flood of his life,
Nor found one sunny resting-place,
Nor brought him back one branch of grace.
'There was a time,' he said, in mild, -
Heart humbled tones-thou blessed child!
When young and haply pure as thou,
I look'd and pray'd like thee-but now-'
He hung his head-each nobler aim

And hope and feeling, which had slept
From boyhood's hour, that instant came

Fresh o'er him, and he wept he wept!
Blest tears of soul-felt penitence!

In whose benign, redeeming flow
Is felt the first, the only sense

Of guiltless joy that guilt can know.
'There's a drop,' said the Peri, 'that down from the moon
Falls through the withering airs of June
Upon Egypt's land, of so healing a power,
So balmy a virtue, that e'en in the hour
That drop descends, contagion dies,

And health reanimates earth and skies!
Oh, is it not thus, thou man of sin,

The precious tears of repentance fall?
Though foul thy fiery plagues within,
One heavenly drop hath dispell'd them all!'

"And now-behold him kneeling there
By the child's side, in humble prayer,
While the same sun-beam shines upon
The guilty and the guiltless one,
And hymns of joy proclaim through Heaven
The triumph of a Soul Forgiven!
'Twas when the golden orb had set,
While on their knees they linger'd yet,
There fell a light, more lovely far
Than ever came from sun or star,
Upon the tear, that, warm and meek,
Dew'd that repentant sinner's cheek;
To mortal eye this light might seem
A northern flash or meteor beam-
But well the enraptur'd Peri knew
'Twas a bright smile the Angel threw
From Heaven's gate, to hail that tear,
Her harbinger of glory near!

"Joy, joy for ever! my task is done-
The Gates are pass'd, and Heaven is won!"

We do not mean of course to teach, that heaven can be won by any gift that we can bring; but the beautiful fable teaches correctly how acceptable to God is true repentance, over which our Saviour says the angels in heaven rejoice. Above all it illustrates how the devotions of childhood often impress the hearts of hardened sinners, and move them to penitence and prayer.

How beautiful, then, and blessed is the sight when an earthly parent teaches his child to look up to its heavenly parent. Those "little prayers" are seeds which will bring forth their rich fruits in after life. Those little prayers!-did ever any one forget them, when he was old, and learned and great in the earth. It is said that John Quincy Adams, to the end of his life, repeated every evening

"Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep;

If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take."

Why may not any one, at any period of life, pray in these words? Can any one construct a better?-so short, so simple, and so comprehensive. It has only one defect; it does not recognize the Mediator. Children ought by all means early be taught that all prayer must be made in the name of Jesus. We therefore much approve of the addition of another line, as is done by many parents, thus:

"And this I ask for Jesus' sake. Amen."

Pity the children who are not taught little prayers! They know

not, in after life, the holiest, sweetest, and strongst charm and joy of childhood. Their memories bloom not with those flowers so fresh and fragrant in the morning dew of life, which ever after linger around the heart like the scent around a vase in which roses have been kept. They can never feel the blessed truth of the poet's words:

"Heaven is nearest to us in our infancy!"

The Guardian may find its way into the hands of some thoughtless parents, who do not teach their children "little prayers;" who perhaps never learnt any themselves. We feel like closing our article by setting down a few, which we hope they will teach their little ones. Here is one:

"Blessed Jesus, mee
and mild,
Look on me, a little child;

Pity my simplicity,

And make a pious (boy) girl of me.

We like this, because it is in the name of Jesus. which many little children have learned:

"Four corners round my bed;
Four angels overspread;

If any evil come to me,
Jesus Christ deliver me. Amen."

Amen."

Here is another

PAY AS YOU GO.

JOHN RANDOLPH of Roanoke said, near forty years ago, in his place in Congress, "I have discovered the philosopher's stone; it is to pay as you go." We should scarcely ever buy too many goods in Europe, if we should establish and adhere rigidly to the rule of paying for them at the time of making the purchase. Our country merchants would seldom buy too much, if they could only obtain what they pay for at the time. So of individuals; if they would only allow themselves to consume an article of necessity or luxury after it was honestly paid for, the number of extravagant and foolish purchases would be greatly diminished; and although they might not be entirely prevented, the individual would usually remain in a solvent condition, and would escape that vortex of embarrassment, bankruptcy, destitution, and the too often consequent humiliation and demoralization. The character, position and prospects of individuals and families, are often totally and irrevocably changed by a change in their pecuniary condition. Families are broken up and scattered abroad, children separated from their natural guardians and protectors, and even disease and death are caused by errors and follies in pecuniary matters. Let those who are convinced of the truth of these views, forthwith commence reformation, and act upon the motto, Pay as you go.

THE UNIFORMITY OF GOD IN THE WORKS OF
NATURE AND REVELATION.

BY R. W.

NATURE, or the works of the physical world around us, has been called the "elder Revelation," because, like the Bible, those works show forth his "eternal power and God-head." The Bible is a transcript of his mind, and gives us an exhibition of his love and his compassion, whilst the works of Nature display his wisdom and his almighty power. Without the stupendous fabric of the universe, including the earth, the sun, the moon, the planets, the stars, the comets, and the remote stellar systems, we could not have such a clear idea of the great power of God! But when we look through the medium of modern astronomy, at the immense system of nature-when we behold the planet Neptune moving on in his orbit at the distance of three thousand millions of miles from the sun, and remember that this remote planet is very near to our system, when compared to the fixed stars, we can form a better idea of the immensity of space than we possibly could from any abstract revelation which can be made. God is the author of the Book of Nature and the Book of Revelation. Of this there can be no doubt. There is an unbroken chain of order and consistency running thro' both; and although the links of this vast chain may not always be contiguous, yet they are all perfect, and may all be brought together. The laws of gravitation are uniform all through the universe, and so are the laws of the refraction of light. The moral laws of God are the same every where on earth, in heaven, and in hell. The physical sciences are very extensive, there seems to be no end. to them. There are more than two hundred thousand planets in the botanic world, every one of which forms a link in the great chain, yet you dont find them all set in order before you like the letters of the alphabet, but they are all somewhere in the world, and the business of the botanist is to hunt them up and arrange them into the proper order. One planet may be found in the burning sands of Sahara, and the very next link may be found blooming on some jutting rock amid the high Alps: one planet may be found amid the snows of Lapland, while its companion may bloom in southern Asia. The botanist, when he commences his studies, finds but little apparent order around him: he often becomes discouraged, but as his knowledge enlarges and his experience increases he sees more order and harmony. So in the world of astronomy, in entomology, in short in all the natural sciences. God has a beautiful and harmonious system in nature, but it is spread over a large space. The business of the man of science is to bring them together. The great Author of Nature has not planted all the